Aftermath
by Miss Becky
Summary: What happens after the fight with Bodhi? Spoilers for Chapter 6 of Shadows of Amn.


Aftermath  
  
Disclaimer: Obviously I do not own these characters, except for Alia, my fighter/cleric PC.  
  
Summary: What happens after the fight with Bodhi? Spoilers for chapter 6 of Shadows of Amn  
  
Feedback: always desired. Review or write me at beckyg19@yahoo.com  
  
****  
  
It was over. Bodhi was dead and Imoen felt whole again, for the first time in weeks. She had her soul back, and they had dealt a severe blow to Irenicus and his ambition.  
  
It should have been a time for celebration.  
  
Instead Imoen stood to one side and watched her sister's world fall apart.  
  
For Bodhi had taken more than Imoen's soul. She had taken one of their companions, Alia's lover. And now he lay dead, killed by Alia herself in a burst of righteous power granted by her god.  
  
For once Imoen didn't know what to do. Her happiness at the return of her soul seemed small and petty compared to Alia's grief. The priestess of Helm cradled close the body of her lover and keened aloud with her pain, sobs wracking her slender frame. Imoen had never seen her like this before, not even when she had learned the devastating truth about her heritage.  
  
It was too painful, watching that grief. Slowly the others began moving. Aerie began to perform her healing spells on Valygar, who was propped up against the wall, barely conscious. Keldorn began walking about the room, searching for the Rhynn Lanthorn.  
  
In a daze, hardly aware that she was crying herself, Imoen followed him.  
  
It wasn't fair, she thought furiously. Alia had just found love, only to lose it so soon. Only last week she had come up to Imoen, shyly confessing the truth of that love, amazed that she was able to feel such emotion at all, without her soul. She was a Bhaalspawn, tainted by evil, and she had never imagined she would fall in love like this. Imoen had been no less surprised, but she had hugged her sister, overjoyed that Alia was finally happy.  
  
And now it was destroyed, thanks to Bodhi and her undead minions.  
  
"Imoen, come here." Keldorn waved her over. "This chest is locked."  
  
Happy to be doing something useful, Imoen hurried into the antechamber and knelt before the chest. It was indeed locked, but nothing her nimble fingers couldn't handle. Within moments she had it open, and was staring in puzzlement at the books within.  
  
"What would a vampire be doing with books?" Keldorn asked, just as confused as she was.  
  
Imoen shrugged. "Beats me." She picked one up and began flipping through it.  
  
Immediately her blood ran cold. She began to tremble so badly she had to cling to Keldorn for support as she stood up. "I have to tell her," she whispered.  
  
"I think we should just leave her alone for a little while," Keldorn said. He cared for Alia like one of his own daughters, Imoen knew, and it hurt him too to see the priestess's pain.  
  
"No!" Imoen cried. "I have to tell her!" Clutching the books, she ran back into the main room.  
  
The worst of Alia's grief seemed to have subsided. She was quiet now, rocking back and forth, her dead lover still pressed to her chest. Her head was bowed, her cheek against his hair, and she was whispering softly to him.  
  
Even looking at her sister seemed like a violation, right now. Imoen took a deep breath. "Alia?" She received no answer, and so she tried again, speaking louder. "Alia?"  
  
Her sister finally looked up, and the anguish on her face nearly brought Imoen to her knees. Then she remembered what she had to say, and her resolve strengthened. She held up the books. "We can save him."  
  
Confusion darkened Alia's face. "What?"  
  
"There's a way," Imoen said, so eager to give her sister hope again that her words tumbled over each other. "There's a way to restore a vampire. I don't know why it didn't work for Bodhi. But if you give her heart to the statue in the Temple of Amaunator you can restore--"  
  
Alia laid the body gently on the floor, then leapt to her feet. Her eyes burned with fire, much as they did when she called upon the power of Helm to destroy undead, as they had when she had killed her own lover. Imoen cringed back a little at the sight. "Here." She held out the books. "It says so here."  
  
Alia looked down at them, drinking in the words. When she lifted her head again, the tears were gone. New hope and determination lit her face. "Everybody, pack up. Keldorn, did you find the Lanthorn? We're going back to Umar Hills."  
  
"Oh, my legs," Aerie moaned. "Can't we just rest first, please?"  
  
Alia fixed her with a furious stare. "No, Aerie, we cannot. Or at least, I will not. I will not rest until I have--" She choked, and could not continue. She moved back to the center of the room and picked up the body lying there. "Now, who is going with me?"  
  
Imoen stood up straight. She was exhausted herself, and still wounded from the fight, but she would not give in. This was her dearest friend, and her sister. "I'll go," she said, and smiled.  
  
Alia did not smile back. "Good." She began walking for the door. "Now let's go."  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: I wrote this after defeating Bodhi this weekend, when it struck me how powerful it would be in real life to face this kind of situation. And yes, I cried when it happened. I wrote it with Solaufein in mind as the dead lover, but it could just as easily be Anomen or Kelsey. This way you can imagine whoever you want. 


End file.
